impatient
Well-Known Member
I would like to brew something low on the caloric scale that does not taste plain like "Coors Light".
Can this be done?
Has this been done around here?
Can this be done?
Has this been done around here?
I've never tried to brew a low calorie beer, but my cream ale has 229/pint and my fizzy yellow beer has 237 a pint. That could probably be reduced by using less malt (for a lower OG) and still provide plenty of flavor.
If you make a beer with an OG of 1.040 or so, using 7 pounds of pilsner malt and 1 pound of corn sugar for a 5 gallon batch, the calories would be about 175 per pint.
How is a high attenuating yeast going to help? It just converts the carbs into alcohol. I guess you will lose some of the energy to CO2 and heat, but I wouldn't think enough to make a huge difference in a low gravity beer.
I always thought that it was the residual (unfermentable) sugars that are left behind that are highly caloric (even though ethanol itself has calories...i think). Thats why people add beano, or amyloglucosidase, to make further ferment their beer, making a "light beer."
Did you read the whole article? That article basically just said what I did. It reduces the carbohydrates significantly, but most of the calories are still in there, they are just converted to alcohol instead of carbs. Alcohol is 7 calories per gram on its own, and some physiologists apparently believe that alcohol is actually more damaging in terms of calorie consumption than equivalent carbs, because alcohol has some detrimental effect on your body's ability to process stuff.
An actual "light" beer is lighter both in terms of carbohydrate AND alcohol content. As an example, Miller High Life is 4.7% ABV with 13.1g of carbs, and Miller Light is 4.2% ABV with 3.2g of carbs.
What you are talking about reduces the carbs, but INCREASES the alcohol content.
1 lb of corn sugar! Houston we have a problem.
Some people are sensitive to corn syrup based products. Corn sugar would be in the same family, I believe. However, most reports show that high-fructose corn syrup is what we need to watch intake of. Something about molecular linking to fat cells, not allowing them to naturally break down in the body.
I'll try your recipe, Yooper! I liked your Cali Common a ton. BTW, do you have calorie numbers on that brew? (the one which you'd suggested using Victory malt in, not the one you won competitions with recently)
youre right, it is both low alcohol and low carbs that make a light beer. But your original post did not seem to give credit to a highly attenuative yeast (or, using beano) when making a light beer. Clearly, a high attenuation is key, so the question about yeast was warranted.
do you work out at all?
I brewed up Orfy's Mild Mannered Ale and mashed at 158°F. It came in at 2.9% ABV and 164 cals/pint. It came out so full bodied and flavorful that you would never guess it was 3-2 beer.
Are you asking "lite" as in "diet" or "light" as in light body and color?
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